GOP growth and opportunity? Not

The Republican National Committee released a report this week by its Growth and Opportunity Project that makes it abundantly clear that: (1) the only thing the Republicans are trying to grow is their vote, and (2) the only real opportunity they are providing is for GOP apparatchiks.

The report calls for some soul-searching and suggests that it’s time to “modernize the party,” to “learn to appeal to more people,” to “do a better job of talking in normal, people-oriented terms” and to “go into communities where Republicans do not normally go.”

Story Continued Below

There are two major flaws – dare I call them the “elephants in the room,” —that cannot be ignored. First, the report overlooks the biggest problem facing the Republican Party; that its policies and positions are dictated by a group of right-wing ideologues who are completely out of step with mainstream America. Yes, the report suggests that “policy matters,” but the underlying theme is that tone matters more. To be clear, the GOP doesn’t just need to figure out a better way to sell its product, it needs a new product. One just needed to watch a few minutes of last week’s CPAC conference to get a sense of how far “out there” these people are, and how deep the divisions are within the Republican Party.

And also, while suggesting a significant investment in new technologies to improve its ability to communicate with voters, the Growth and Opportunity Project fails to recognize – or maybe just cannot fathom - how far behind they are compared to Democrats and progressives.

How out of step is the GOP? Polls show that a majority of Americans (62 percent — including 36 percent of Republicans) believe the Republican Party is out of touch with the American people and too extreme. On just about every hot-button issue, Republican positions run counter to mainstream America. On immigration, Hispanic voters favor President Obama’s approach over the GOP’s by a whopping 73 percent to 15 percent margin. When it comes to gay marriage the GOP has certainly not “evolved” with the majority of Americans, as recent polling shows that favorability on the issue is at an all-time high (58 percent favor, 36 percent oppose). On tightening background checks for gun purchases, not a single Republican voted in favor of the legislation despite 92 percent of voters and 91 percent of gun-owning households supporting the change. And on a woman’s right to choose, a majority of voters (54 percent) believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.